LCPL Cpl. Chadwick A. Gilliam, 29, Mayking, Ky.(Kuwait)

[devildog-64012]

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty Release No. 008-09 January 06, 2009


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Chadwick A. Gilliam, 29, of Mayking, Ky., died Jan. 3 at a U.S. military base in Kuwait. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The official cause of death is pending the results of the autopsy.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the II Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office at(910) 451-7200.

[GyBill]

Lejeune Marine dies of cardiac arrest in Kuwait

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 7, 2009 17:44:45 EST

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A Marine from Kentucky died of an apparent cardiac arrest at a U.S. base in Kuwait.

The Marine Corps said Tuesday that 29-year-old Lance Cpl. Chadwick A. Gilliam of Mayking, Ky., died Saturday. An autopsy is pending.

Gilliam was a member of 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune. He was an infantryman and joined the unit June 25, 2007, and was promoted to lance corporal last year.

WYMT-TV in Hazard reports that Gilliam attended the old Whitesburg High School in the mid 1990s. One of his former teachers, Scottie Billiter, said Gilliam inspired other students. Billiter, now an assistant principal at Letcher County Central High School, said had a wide array of interests, from the football team to the Spanish club. Billiter was Gilliam’s home room teacher in 1995.

“There is not one of those kids that I had in my home room that I could tell one bad thing about because I have nothing but great fond memories of him. He was definitely a big part of that. He was a big part of who we were,” Billiter said.

A funeral service for Gilliam will be Saturday at noon EST at Letcher Funeral Home. Visitation is scheduled for Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the funeral home.